Planning: ‘Minister’s powers should be curbed’
Thursday 28th July 2011, 3:04PM BST.
Present and past Environment Ministers Deputy Rob Duhamel and Senator Freddie Cohen
THE Environment Minister’s powers should be curbed to avoid allegations of corruption and to strengthen transparency when planning applications are determined, a politician has warned.
Deputy Roy Le Hérissier was summarising the findings of a report, which was presented to the States this month, calling for the minister to be removed from determining planning applications bar in ‘exceptional’ circumstances.
Instead, the planning applications panel, a group of seven backbenchers, should be the main body that determines planning applications in Jersey, the report says. It also says that he should be barred from making planning decisions if he has been lobbied by architects or developers about the application in question.
The report sets out a code of conduct for the minister to make the planning process more transparent.
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Door, horse, bolted?
It is the Jersey way!
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Talk about closing the door after the horse has bolted!
And Freddie certainly has bolted – the ink’s not even dry on the Island Plan ballot papers, let alone the actual Law.
It’s his ‘baby’ and where is he??? Off schmoozing in his new role, while the rest of us deal with his legacy.
With a bit of luck Rob Duhamel won’t feel his inheritance of the job as Minister comes with quite the same messianic responsibilty that Freddie felt it warranted. Just leave the planners to get on with their jobs without the hassle of a meddling silver-spooner interfering with day-to-day applications.
Best of luck to Rob Duhamel. We’ve experienced enough of the style-over-substance dictatorship leadership approach, let’s try for a bit more common sense and logic under the new Minister.
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Too late!!!
Freddie has already ruined everything!!
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Stable door and horse come to mind
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Absolutely…but must also not reduce his responsibility and accountability.
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Half the island has been saying that since the clothier nonsence that no one wanted. this looks like we are back to the committee system. About time too. The ministerial system is a laughing stock, both here and abroad.
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If this is this going to be case then put the island plan back under review and perhaps we can actually listen to the qualified people in the planning department rather than an unqualified “politician”.
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You just cannot make this stuff up if you tried. What a farce the legacy of Cohen, millions spent on Iconic creators of World Class renown. Go along to Bath Street turn down towards Oxford Road then look back at the Iconic masterpiece he has given listed status to. What a blo**y great carbuncle it is, well thanks Cohen. And now he is ahem, Foreign Minister a position that never before existed, but Freddie will milk this. Today he tells us he has discovered Israeli electric cars and we should all be driving one, can’t wait tip get mine and set off for Spain reckon it will take about a week there and a week back. The Planning office needs a major shake up and someone with common sense to go and run it. Shame amongst our 53 I doubt we could produce one candidate.
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Sir
What utter rot on the part of Deputy Le Herissier! One challenges him to cite one incidence of planning irregularity which has been successfully prosecuted in our courts?
He should really know better than to spread such wild conspiracy theories, which only impugn the integrity of his colleagues.
In fact we should celebrate how the seamless integration of our leading politicians into the business and finance sectors has worked to the island’s immense benefit.
One need only look to the waterfront development as an example of why such co-operation should be encouraged, and which,
one contends, stands as testimony to the good deeds of Senator Cohen and his colleagues.
Proud Jerseyman
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This will never go far enough. Criteria should be drawn up for each type of development and it should be a tick box exercise to make sure all criteria are met. There should be no “who you know” of “who you’ve given a backhander to” stuff going on, just straightforward facts over the development itself.
Chances of such true transparency happening in Jersey? Nil, not enough adults in this world can separate their relationships with friends and family from doing their job properly, and in Jersey everyone knows someone with an element of influence in at least one area of society.
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Proud Jerseyman
Should have gone to Sp******ers.
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